A kitchen shoulder injury rarely ends with one doctor’s visit. Between the initial exam, physical therapy two or three times a week, and the occasional independent medical exam, an active workers’ comp claim can mean a lot of driving for kitchen staff already stretched thin on time. Most injured workers never realize that mileage is reimbursable, so they just eat the cost of gas and never file for it.
Every one of those trips has a dollar value attached to it. Filing for workers’ comp mileage reimbursement is usually a short form, and skipping it means leaving money on the table, a benefit many injured workers don’t realize they can claim once their treatment is authorized under an accepted claim.
What Actually Counts as Reimbursable Travel
Mileage reimbursement typically covers trips directly tied to your claim, not everyday errands. The usual categories include:
- Visits to your treating doctor or specialist
- Physical therapy or rehabilitation appointments
- Independent medical exams requested by the insurer
- Trips to the pharmacy to pick up prescribed medication
- Travel to a hearing related to your claim
The reimbursement rate is set and adjusted periodically. New York’s Workers’ Compensation Board, for example, publishes an official mileage rate on a set schedule, most recently adjusted for 2026, and it’s worth checking the current figure before submitting a claim rather than relying on last year’s number.
Why This Benefit Gets Missed So Often
Nobody hands injured workers a checklist of every benefit they’re owed. Most people focus entirely on wage replacement and medical bills, since those are the obvious, immediate costs. Mileage feels small in comparison, so it quietly gets skipped, appointment after appointment.
Over the course of a long claim involving physical therapy two or three times a week, the missed reimbursement can add up to a meaningful amount, especially for anyone driving a longer distance to see a specialist.
How to Actually Claim It
Keeping the paperwork simple makes the biggest difference in whether this gets claimed consistently. A workable system usually looks like this:
- Log the date, destination, and purpose of each trip
- Note the round-trip mileage using a map app or your odometer
- Save any appointment confirmations as backup documentation
- Submit mileage on a regular schedule instead of waiting until the claim closes
A running log kept on a phone takes a minute to update after each appointment, and it turns an easily forgotten benefit into a routine part of managing the claim.
